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Tips for taking kids to a restaurant

Mark Gillespie knows how hard it can be to go out to eat as a family. His 19-month-old daughter taught him that. Kids cry. They make noise. They drop food. They want to run around. “Once kids are a certain age, they know what they want to do, and they don’t always want to sit still,” he says. “It’s not always easy.” So Gillespie, general manager of Phillips Avenue Diner, understands that not every child is always going to be on his or her best behavior just because they’re at a restaurant — which is why he and his staff work so hard to cater to the needs of families. “I think we do everything we can to make it easy and enjoyable for parents,” he says. But ensuring a child is happy and not a distraction to other diners isn’t a responsibility that lies solely on the server. It’s up to the parents to come to a restaurant armed with a plan. ■ Pick the right place. Finding a family-friendly restaurant is key when dining out with kids — especially toddlers. Heidi Galer, a Sioux Falls mom of two young children, looks for restaurants with quick service and food her kids will like when dining out as a family.

Kid-friendly choices

The key to a great kid-friendly restaurant is providing a comfortable environment and delicious menu for the entire family. Here’s a look at 10 kid-friendly restaurants in Sioux Falls.

• Phillips Avenue Diner: The 1950s atmosphere of the metal-clad downtown eatery is fun for parents and kids. The restaurant features classic diner specialties along with chef-inspired creations, with a kids menu that features homemade mac and cheese, hand-breaded corn dogs and fun ice cream shakes.

• Pizza Ranch: When it comes to feeding kids, you almost can’t go wrong with pizza — it’s practically a universal favorite. Area Pizza Ranch locations offer free kids buffets (with the purchase of an adult meal) on Tuesday nights. Most locations also have arcade rooms.

• Famous Dave’s: The casual dining restaurant features an energetic staff and a welcoming atmosphere. Food is served quickly, and there’s a lot to look at, so kids won’t get bored.

• Cracker Barrel: Cracker Barrel is known as a full-service restaurant serving classic, home-style favorites at a family-friendly price. The restaurant’s country store also provides a welcome distraction for kids while waiting for their meal.

• Tre Lounge: Tre Lounge features one of the most extensive kids menus in Sioux Falls — and not just typical kid-friendly fare, either. There are burgers, chicken strips and grilled cheese, but Tre also offers kids chicken nachos, fish tacos, vegetable linguini, flatbread pizzas and healthy salads.

• Leonardo’s Café: The cafe inside the Washington Pavilion offers an expansive menu of fresh-cooked meals. Kids meals — which include a hot dog, grilled cheese, pita pizza or a PB&J with a choice of fruit, salad or chips and a drink — are $3.50, which is about the same as a fast-food meal.

• Hu Hut Mongolian Grill: At Hu Hot, diners get to create their own Asian stir-fry from a selection of fresh meats, noodles, vegetables and Asian-inspired sauces, then watch as it’s cooked on a grill — an entertaining experience for kids. And if they don’t love noodles, Hu Hot offers an a la carte menu of classic kid favorites.

• Marlin’s Family Restaurant: Whether you’re hungry for breakfast, lunch or dinner, Marlins’ relaxed, inviting and comfortable atmosphere is great for families. Kids meals come with coloring pages and a toy.

• Cherry Creek Grill & Bar: Kid-friendly favorites like mac and cheese are on the children’s menu at Cherry Creek Grill & Bar. Sundays are designated Family Day, when kids eat for $1.99.

• Camille’s Sidewalk Café: The casual, relaxed atmosphere at Camille’s makes it a great spot for a quick lunch or dinner, with freshly made salads, wraps, sandwiches and flatbread pizzas. The special children’s menu features wraps, grilled cheese and a PB&J.

Online

Read Cory Myers’ blog, argusleader.com/foodfalls, for more about restaurants in Sioux Falls.

■ Beat the clock. Hungry kids are cranky kids, Galer says. Don’t go out to eat later than your child is used to eating and expect him to be patient while waiting for his food. ■ Feed the kids first. Servers can ask the kitchen to make a kids meal first, Gillespie says, and bring it out earlier than the rest of the family’s order. “We can get the child something right away, and then figure out your drinks and your order,” he says. ■ Pack a restaurant survival kit. Don’t arrive at a restaurant empty-handed. Keep your kids busy while you’re waiting for your food with small games, books and small toys. Many restaurants offer coloring pages and crayons, says Randy Derheim, partner with Pinnacle Hospitality, which operates Tre Lounge, Foley’s and Callaway’s. Ask for them if they’re not offered right away. ■ Bribery works. As much as parents hate to admit it, bribery works, Galer says. When she needs to, she’ll give her son her phone to play games. “I don’t know what we did before without iPods or smartphones that kept kids busy and entertained.” ■ If all else fails, try takeout. When nothing works, it’s time to leave, Galer says. Thank goodness for takeout boxes, right?

Janelle Aday and daughter Kate demonstrate some things parents can do when taking young children out to eat. (Elisha Page/Argus Leader) / Elisha Page / Argus Leader file photo

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The lights were low. The music was soft. And the food — fine dining at its Sioux Falls best — was delicious.

It should have been the perfect anniversary dinner for Sarah Werner and her husband.

There was just one thing that ruined the mood: a baby crying – and crying and crying – at the next table.

Instead of talking and toasting their marriage, Werner and her husband spent a significant portion of the evening fuming. They don’t often go out for expensive meals – it’s a special, once-a-year treat.

“It’s kind of like when someone is texting in front of you in the movie theater: All you can see is that tiny glowing screen,” the Sioux Falls woman says. “The wait staff didn’t seem to notice, even though my husband and I could barely hear each other over the incessant shrieking. I was so angry I couldn’t taste my food.”

But in a restaurant, particularly an expensive one, the loud, shrill sound of a distressed child’s voice can resemble nails across a blackboard — especially when it’s not your child.

A handful of restaurants around the country have gotten attention in the past few years for banning kids, resulting in cheers from those who want a child-free meal and jeers from those who enjoy dining out with the whole family.

Sioux Falls restaurants, for the most part, welcome children. Fine-dining restaurants have children’s menus, and even many bars will serve those younger than 21 — serve them food, that is — during certain hours of the day.

Just because you can dine out with the whole family, however, doesn’t mean you should, which sometimes leads to confusion for customers when deciding where and when to dine out with — or without — the kids.

Even without the secondhand smoke these days, bar stools aren’t meant for babies. The standard menu of beer, booze and buffalo wings just isn’t very kid-friendly, so there’s little reason for anyone younger than 21 to be inside many Sioux Falls bars.

But many bars have bigger menus, walking the fine line between bar and restaurant, like at Cherry Creek Grill & Bar.

“The word bar is in our name, so it’s assumed that’s what we are. But we’re more of a family restaurant,” says general manager Pete Havard. “We don’t stay open until 2 in the morning. We don’t promote shots. We pride ourselves on being a family restaurant more than a bar.”

Cherry Creek caters to its varied customers with different promotions on different days. Wednesday, for example, is Margarita and Tea Night, with half-priced margaritas and half-priced Long Island teas. Sunday, on the other hand, is Family Day, and kids can eat for $1.99. “We’ve never had any complaints combining the two,” Havard says.

It’s a similar story at restaurants such as Applebee’s, Chili’s, The Attic and Old Chicago. They all feature bars with an extensive drink menu but offer special meals for kids, too.

That’s where the confusion comes in, says Katie Fritz of Sioux Falls. It’s easy to assume most bars that serve food are the same way.

Not too long ago, Fritz and her dad wanted to take her brother, a then-20-year-old student at the University of South Dakota, to McNally’s for lunch. Fritz and her father had eaten there a few times and liked the menu.

But when they got there, Fritz’s brother was told he couldn’t stay — McNally’s doesn’t serve anyone younger than 21, regardless of whether they want alcohol.

“I can understand not wanting to have a whole bar full of screaming kids, which is appreciated by many,” Fritz says. “But not to let a grown man and his family to have lunch at 2 o’clock in the afternoon? It was a little off-putting.”

But McNally’s is clear about who it will and will not serve: A sign on the door says no one under the age of 21 is allowed inside.

Even though the restaurant serves burgers, JL Beers doesn’t allow anyone under 21 in because of its focus on beer, Wilson says. The restaurant has 40 beers on tap as well as dozens of import bottles.

“People that come in are real beer aficionados, and they come in to taste new beers,” he says. “So creating an environment that is inviting for that is very important.”

Kids can be a distraction, “not only for family members but for other customers,” Wilson says. “So it’s an opportunity for moms and dads to get away, and friends to come and enjoy themselves without trying to keep track of the kids.”

Wilson admits that not allowing anyone under 21 inside the restaurant initially was met with a little frustration from some customers when JL Beers opened in April.

“We’d hear people say, ‘Man, you serve cheeseburgers, but we can’t bring our kids or our whole family in?’ ” he says.

Again, it goes back to the restaurant’s focus on beer, Wilson says.

“Anyone under 21 — supervised or unsupervised — is a risk legally, and unfortunately, at this day and age, we don’t need that,” Wilson says. “So it’s just easier for us to draw that line — and you have to draw it somewhere — in conjunction with drinking and the law. And as every day passes, people are more and more understanding of that.”

But being family-friendly is also good for business, Cherry Creek’s Havard says. Sioux Falls is full of families, and children often dictate where families dine. “Our kids menu is pretty basic: macaroni and cheese, mini corn dogs, chicken strips and cheese pizzas,” he says. “But we try to give a little extra attention to children.”

Randy Derheim, a partner with Pinnacle Hospitality, says they try to accommodate families at the company’s restaurants, Tre Lounge, Foley’s and Callaway’s.

“We’ve made being family-friendly a big part of our marketing — at Tre in particular,” Derheim says. “Callaway’s has always had that reputation. At Foley’s, we don’t promote it as much, but parents are always pleasantly surprised when they see a restaurant of that caliber would take the time to do that, to have a menu for kids.”

It’s just makes good economic sense, especially in a town booming with restaurants.

“If we were to put limits on ourselves, I don’t think we’d be as successful as we are,” Derheim says. “It’s hard enough in the restaurant business, with 450 restaurants we’re competing against. Focusing on younger guests as much as we do is just a good way to do business. If I’m competing against Applebee’s or Chili’s, I have to be on the same playing field.”

Offering a special menu for kids, however, isn’t necessarily a moneymaker.

“Most restaurants — ourselves included — don’t make money off kids’ meals,” says Mark Gillespie, the general manager of Phillips Avenue Diner. “The point of pricing them so low is to give parents the opportunity to dine out without breaking the budget. … People have kids, and they still need to go out and enjoy their life.”

But just because you can take a child somewhere doesn’t mean you should.

A restaurant with white tablecloths and fancy dinnerware just might not be the best atmosphere for a toddler who likes to throw food (or forks), for example.

“I don’t want to exclude anyone, but maybe a 3-year-old isn’t the appropriate clientele for a place you go for quiet conversation,” says Werner, the anniversary diner. “It’s about being courteous to others in the restaurant who are paying a lot of money for a romantic dinner, and sometimes a screaming child can ruin the mood — as I’m sure any parent can attest.”

That’s definitely true, says Heidi Galer. Experience has taught the Sioux Falls mom of two young children to save some restaurant trips for evenings when she has a baby sitter.

“It’s just harder to enjoy,” Galer says, remembering a night when her son came along for dinner at Johnny Carino’s a few years ago. “He was younger then, and he was cranky, and it was hard to enjoy when you feel like everyone is looking at you. … I don’t try to judge others, but it’s hard not to feel like you’re being judged. No one goes out to eat to listen to a kid scream.”

From then on, Galer says, “we’ve saved those experiences for an adult night.”